by Mike Hall, Jul 13, 2006

Since 1997 when the minimum wage was last increased by Congress—it’s still $5.15 an hour nine years later—congressional pay has increased by 24 percent, CEO pay has jumped by 73 percent and the salary of the President of the United States has jumped 100 percent.

A new report by the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s Democratic staff details those pay raises and how staggeringly far behind minimum wage workers have fallen since 1997, making it near impossible for minimum wage workers to afford just the basics of life.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is fighting to pass legislation (S. 1062) to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour said:

This new report shows who the Bush economy has been working for—those at the top of the economic ladder….Americans are working harder than ever, and our nation’s productivity is rising, but millions of hard working men and women across the country are not getting their fair share. We are not rewarding work fairly anymore and working families are falling behind.

The report, released yesterday, points out how Congress has voted eight times to raise its own pay—with a ninth pay raise due this January—since 1997. The Republican-controlled Senate has voted down minimum wage increases eight times and House Republican leaders have continually blocked minimum wage over the years. (There was symbolic victory in the House yesterday, more on that below). As Kennedy says:

Now we’re poised to give ourselves another $3,300. It’s appalling that Congress would raise its own pay yet again. Yet continue to ignore the most vulnerable worker in our society. Democrats don’t intend to let that happen again this year.

The report, Their Fair Share: Creating a Just Economy for Minimum Wage Families, also notes that Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has called congressional pay raises vital, so lawmakers will not “fall behind in purchasing power.” Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has said raising congressional pay “is the decent thing to do” to allow lawmakers to “provide for their families.” (Oh, the struggle to get by on $165,200 a year. That $3,300 raise next year will help lawmakers squeak by, but just barely.)

The full report is available here and here are a few quick facts from the report:

• Workers’ productivity has increased 18 percent since Bush took office and corporate profits have increased 92 percent. The minimum wage hasn’t increased at all.
• If the minimum wage had increased at the same rate as presidential pay, it would be $10.30 an hour today. (Click here to read about pay raise for White House staffers.)
• Gasoline prices are 2004 percent higher than when Bush took office. The minimum wage is ZERO percent higher.
• In 2005, the average cost for health care for a family of four was $10,880 a year. A full-time, year-round minimum wage worker earned $10, 712 for the year—before taxes.
• Since 1997 college tuition is up by 35 percent and housing costs by 36 percent. The minimum wage is still $5.15 an hour, same as in 1997.

Meanwhile in the House, Republican leaders continue to block a straight up or down vote on a bill (H.R. 2429) to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. But yesterday, 64 Republicans joined all 195 Democrats to approve a non-binding motion to instruct the House members who will meet with senators to iron out differences in the House and Senate versions of an education bill to include a minimum wage raise in the final bill.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chief sponsor of the House bill to raise the minimum wage by $2.10 an hour, said:

Over the past months, House Republicans have done everything under the sun to hand tax breaks to their wealthy friends, while shamefully continuing to ignore millions of working Americans who have not received a much needed pay raise in nine long years. The House’s approval of this motion is symbolic, and proves that if given the opportunity, a majority of House members would support increasing the minimum wage.

Some congressional observers noted that several of the Republicans who backed the motion are in close re-election contests and opposing a minimum wage increase won’t play well with voters, about 80 percent of whom, according to several polls, support a raise. Yesterday’s vote could give them some cover in the fall.

But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said after the vote:

Democrats have made raising the minimum wage too hot to handle for Republicans. That’s why after voting against increasing it five times in the last month, today 64 Republicans joined Democrats in the first step to give more than nearly 7 million Americans a raise.

With this vote, Republicans have gone on record as supporting raising the minimum wage. Democrats will continue to hold Republicans’ feet to the fire when this bill returns to the House floor to make certain that when the vote is binding, these same Republicans do not abandon their support for raising the minimum wage.

Stay tuned.

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